Author Interview & Giveaway: Roseanna M. White, author of A Name Unknown and the Ladies of the Manor series

Today, on tour with TLC Book Tours, I have Roseanna M. White on the blog to chat about her latest release, A Name Unknownwhich is also the start of a brand new series, Shadows Over England.

1. Hi Roseanna! Welcome to Just Commonly! Five second intro to you not in your typical 'back of the book' bio, GO! (OK, you can take more than 5 seconds. *smile)

I’m a wife of 16 years, homeschooling mom to 2, writer since way back, cover designers, and editor for WhiteFire Publishing who has a serious love for coffee and chocolate (the two major food groups, right?).

2. LOL. I knew I like you for a reason! *wink wink. How about giving us 5 words to describe your current release, A Name Unknown?

3. What was your inspiration? What made you think you had to write this story?

Well while getting started on the third book of the Ladies of the Manor Series, I realized I was quick running out of projects, so I started brainstorming something new to pitch to Bethany House. Some research I had done for that first Edwardian series taught me that King George V changed his last name during WWI from the German Saxe-Coburg to the English Windsor—which made me wonder if anyone else of German descent might have done the same. That combined with some other super fun historical facts about how artists were recruited to help in the war effort, and finally with the idea of incorporating a family of thieves into the book, and voila!

4. I love how research for something else can spark inspiration for another! Speaking of the Ladies of the Manor series, I'm a huge fan. What are some similarities or differences between them and A Name Unknown?

They happen in the same story world, so though you don’t ever see the characters from Ladies of the Manor in a scene, you’ll find an occasional mention of them! They both have some mystery, some suspense, and of course some romance. But rather than focusing on the nobility with a servant perspective, this series is more about the great divide at the time between the rich and the poor, and doesn’t have any pesky nobility titles to contend with. 😉

5. Which part of the book is your favorite? Can you share a line/paragraph (without a spoiler)?

Oh, this is tough! But I think it’s probably one of my big middle scenes, where a character is shot . . . with an arrow. I had fun making it an unlikely weapon of choice for that era, primarily so that the enraged victim could say things like:
“Of all the blighted, archaic things—a dashed arrow? Are you Robin Hood, you blazing coward?”

6. I love that! The topic of this book is so on trend! Ancestry research is all the rage now. Have you ever done research into your own ancestry? Anything interesting you found out that you didn't know before?

I haven’t personally done any ancestry research, but my English cousins have! When I was in college, my great-uncle was contacted by our family still in England, verifying that his father was the brother of this branch’s father. Until then, I didn’t realize that the Higson family (my maiden name) was so newly-arrived in the US!

7. How different is it for someone in the Edwardian era to research their ancestry versus someone today?

Oh my gracious. Can you imagine doing all that research with no internet?? Peter, my hero, happens to have a library overflowing with books his grandfather had collected, and it’s his grandfather’s history he’s looking for, so it wasn’t as bad as it could have been. His primary goal was to locate his opa’s journals somewhere in the mess of books. Quite a daunting task, given the state of his library…

8. Character visits! Which book/story of yours would you think make a great connection for your characters in A Name Unknown if there's such a thing as book jumping?

Oh my, I think it could have been fun to pit my cold-hearted Russian magnate, Andre, from A Lady Unrivaled against my gang of thieves! He was an interesting semi-villain to write, and though he would consider himself as moving in a very different class of criminals than my thieves, I think Rosemary and her crew could have taught him a thing or two!

9. O, I think I can imagine that! And which character of a book will you think would make a great "faraway best friend" to one of your characters?

Peter has a huge correspondence list, so I can imagine him being a pen pal with my other character who tends to write insightful letters—Brice from The Reluctant Duchess.

10. Aww, dear Brice. I miss him. That cover is just perfect! The style, the setting and the title, just absolutely great. Was there ever another draft that was a close call to being selected as the cover or was this always what you've envisioned?

I had no idea what they’d come up with, but my only request for the cover was, “BOOKS!” I absolutely adore the result! The look on her face, the library shelves, the colors are all perfect. I think this is probably my all-time favorite cover. Because books!

11. Ditto on her expression and the books! Absolutely stunning. Are you in the process of working on the covers for the next books in the series? How do you envision those to be like in coordination of this first book?

I actually just received the cover for the second book, A Song Unheard! I love the colors, the perspective down the violin. I can’t possibly adore it as much as those BOOKS (ha ha), but I think they found a clever way of incorporating the violin, and the expression on Willa’s face makes it pretty clear that she’s watching more than the music on the stand…

For book 3, I’m hoping to have some fun clockworks and gears on the cover (we have clockmaking in that one), and I’ll be crossing my fingers for both hero and heroine, though we’ll see if I get that request. 😉

12. Yes, I also love the cover of book 2, A Song Unheard, but as you said, nothing can top that cover of books for this book nerd! LOL. Speaking of books in the series, what can we expect in the next books?

In book 2, A Song Unheard, we follow Rosemary’s adoptive sister Willa to Wales, where she’s sent on an assignment to find a cypher key in the possession of a famous violinist. For the first time in her life, this unlikely violin prodigy gets to rub elbows with other musicians…and try not to be charmed by the infamous Lukas De Wilde. Lukas, son of a mathematician and cryptographer, barely escaped Belgium with his life when Germany invaded—and has no idea where his mother and sister are. He fears they’ve paid the price for the work of his father’s that everyone wants…and that his efforts to find them may be too little, too late.

13. I'm not going to ask you to choose a favorite, but which of your books, including A Name Unknown, can you relate to the most, and in what way?

In some ways it’s definitely this one, because Peter is a novelist. He writes a different kind of story than I do, but it was so much fun to have him thinking about his story as I thought about his! In other ways though, it’s A Lady Unrivaled. Eternally-optimistic Ella is more like me than any other character I’ve ever written.

14. Since we're on the topic of you, what book of yours would be a great start for new readers of this genre or just simply new to your books?

I would probably start a new reader with The Lost Heiress—my first Edwardian title, and a true book of my heart. I wrote the first draft of that story when I was 12! So it’s traveled with me a long time, through many revisions, and I love how it turned out.

15. What's the favorite place you've visited for research?

Cornwall!! I had the blessing of going to England last fall for research/my 15th anniversary trip, and I so enjoyed seeing the gorgeous, rugged landscape where A Name Unknown is set!

16. How about a favorite place to write?

Anywhere quiet, LOL. Most of the time I’m stationed at the kitchen table, but honestly, the “where” doesn’t matter to me, so long as I can have some peace and quiet (hard to come by as a homeschooling mom at the kitchen table…)

Oh, let’s see. I struggle to eat my vegetables. I wear a size 3.5 on my ring finger, which led the jewelry store to disbelieve me and not place the order for my wedding band because they thought it was a mistake. I was a tour guide in college—a fun exercise for an introvert! I love hats but rarely wear them. And we have a 1994 Jeep Cherokee, my husband’s daily driver, with 420,000 miles on it, and it’s the most dependable vehicle in the family!

WOW! Did I read that right, 420,000 miles?!! Well, after the debacle with your wedding band, I guess I should just believe you on that one. That is one awesome car! They sure don't make them like that anymore. Any how, Roseanna, THANK YOU for spending time with me. I just love the insight we get on A Name Unknown and you!

Roseanna M. White pens her novels beneath her Betsy Ross flag, with her Jane Austen action figure watching over her. When not writing fiction, she’s homeschooling her two children, editing and designing, and pretending her house will clean itself. Roseanna is the author of over a dozen historical novels and novellas, ranging from biblical fiction to American-set romances to her British series. Spies and war and mayhem always seem to make their way into her novels…to offset her real life, which is blessedly boring. She passes said boring life with her husband and kids in the beautiful mountains of eastern West Virginia. You can learn more about her and her stories at www.RoseannaMWhite.com.

She's Out to Steal His Name. Will He Steal Her Heart Instead?Rosemary Gresham has no family beyond the band of former urchins who helped her survive as a girl in the mean streets of London. Grown now, they are no longer pickpockets--instead they focus on high value items and have learned how to blend into upper-class society. Rosemary is beginning to question whether she can continue in this life when she's offered the challenge of a lifetime--determine whether a certain wealthy gentleman is loyal to Britain or to Germany. After all how does one steal a family's history, their very name?As Europe moves ever closer to World War I, rumors swirl around Peter Holstein. Awkward and solitary, but with access to the king, many fear his influence. But Peter can't help his German last name and wants to prove his loyalty to the Crown--so he can go back to anonymously writing a series of popular adventure novels. When Rosemary arrives on his doorstep pretending to be a well-credentialed historian, Peter believes she's the right person to help him dig through his family's past.When danger and suspicion continue to mount, both realize they're in a race against time to discover the truth--about Peter's past and about the undeniable attraction kindling between them.

TO PURCHASE A COPY of A NAME UNKNOWN, Book 1

Title: A Song Unheard

Series: Shadows Over England, Book 2

Author: Roseanna White

Publisher: Bethany House Publishers

Release Date: January 2, 2018

Genre: Inspirational Historical Fiction

Willa Forsythe is both a violin prodigy and top-notch thief, which makes her the perfect choice for a crucial task at the outset of World War I—to steal a cypher from a famous violinist currently in Wales.Lukas De Wilde has enjoyed the life of fame he’s won—until now, when being recognized nearly gets him killed. Everyone wants the key to his father's work as a cryptologist. And Lukas fears that his mother and sister, who have vanished in the wake of the German invasion of Belgium, will pay the price. The only light he finds is meeting the intriguing Willa Forsythe.But danger presses in from every side, and Willa knows what Lukas doesn’t — that she must betray him and find that cypher, or her own family will pay the price as surely as his has.

TO PURCHASE A COPY ofA SONG UNHEARD, Book 2

(1) Winner will win a copy of Roseanna M. White's A Name Unknown, courtesy of publisher, Bethany House Publishers. (US/Canada Addresses Only)

I haven't had the privilege of reading one of your books YET, Roseanna. I've heard great things about them and I know I love books that are written in the time period you use. Would love to start with A Name Unknown!

Hi Annie and Roseanna! Congratulations on your book Roseanna! Loved the interview and learning all these fun things about the book and you, Roseanna....I am not entering as I am "patiently" awaiting this book to appear in my mailbox!...Blessings, Tina

Roseanna, I love your Edwardian series! I also enjoyed reading this interview and learning some new things about you. I did not know you had relatives in England - cool! I don't have any relatives in another country, and not many in other states from where I live either. I am looking forward to reading this series! :)

I am just a couple chapters away from finishing this amazing book! It has been SO good. My first Roseanna White book, but it has already earned its place as a 'favourite' for me!Great interview - really loved reading it, and can't wait to read the next book already!!